Testing high capacity, IP-based intelligent networks requires the origination of Internet-scale volumes of simulated user traffic in laboratory environments. The current generation of high-speed network performance testing equipment is based on either:                Proprietary hardware-based “packet blasters” that use pre-configuring quasi-static packets at or near “wirespeed;” or        TCP socket-based software that runs on large numbers of general purpose (or slightly modified) computing platforms.        
As the density, speed and intelligent traffic management capabilities of network devices increase, traditional high-volume traffic generation solutions are less able to simulate real-world scenarios.